State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR)

What State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR) does

State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR) is a 501c3 nonprofit membership alliance founded in 1989 and headquartered in Austin, Texas. Its stated mission is to advance recycling across Texas through partnerships, education, and advocacy aimed at supporting professionals, educating the public, informing lawmakers, expanding recycling access, developing infrastructure, and growing recycling markets. STAR operates a hybrid membership model serving local governments and municipalities, recycling industry participants (haulers, processors, MRFs), manufacturers and sustainable brands, environmental consultants and advocates, students, and nonprofits/community organizers across six regional chapters (Central, North, South, East, West, Gulf Coast).

STAR's core offerings are programmatic rather than technological. Flagship products include the annual Texas Recycling Summit (now in its 27th year, scheduled for May 14–15, 2026 in Denton, TX), the statewide Texas Recycles Day campaign (launched November 2021 and celebrated each November 15), STAR Scholarships for environmental sustainability students, School Bin Grants, and searchable member and recycling center directories spanning 36+ facilities and hundreds of individual members. Underlying technology is limited to a BetterUnite-powered membership and ticketing portal, a JotForm application form, and standard website/social media infrastructure — there is no proprietary technology stack.

Revenue is generated through four streams: individual and organizational membership dues, a four-tier corporate sponsorship program (STAR Ally $500, Resource Advocate $2,500, Sustainability Partner $5,000, Circularity Partner $10,000), event registration fees ($100 student / $325 member / $375 general admission / complimentary for qualifying government officials), and charitable donations. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, with the Texas Recycling Summit functioning as the primary member acquisition and retention vehicle. Day-to-day operations are managed by a small part-time staff of approximately eight, led by Executive Director Adrian Hernandez, with governance provided by a volunteer Executive Committee and Board of Directors.

Name

State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR)

Legal name

State of Texas Alliance for Recycling

Website

https://recyclingstar.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR) is a 501c3 nonprofit membership alliance advancing recycling across Texas through advocacy, education, partnerships, the annual Texas Recycling Summit, and the Texas Recycles Day campaign for recycling professionals, municipalities, and organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recycling Advocacy and Sustainability Services

NAICS

Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629), Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (56)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Solid Waste & Recycling Services Administration (BPAIACAH)

Keywords

• Recycling advocacy
• Membership organization
• Sustainability education
• Waste management
• Circular economy

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Annual Membership Dues: Individual and organizational membership fees provide recurring revenue. Members receive discounts on events, access to directory, and eligibility to vote and run for leadership positions.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Four-tiered sponsorship program ranging from $500 (STAR Ally) to $10,000 (Circularity Partner) annually. Includes benefits like social media recognition, directory enhancement, event discounts, newsletter features, and press releases.
3. Event Registration Fees: Texas Recycling Summit registration at $375 general admission, $325 for members, $100 for students. Additional revenue from exhibitor and sponsorship packages associated with the annual summit.
4. Donations: Charitable donations accepted from supporters. STAR is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

STAR advances recycling in Texas through a membership-based nonprofit model, offering individual and organizational memberships, the annual Texas Recycling Summit, the Texas Recycles Day campaign, scholarship and school bin grant programs, and searchable recycling center and member directories. The organization convenes haulers, processors, municipalities, manufacturers, consultants, students, and nonprofits to harmonize recycling education and reduce contamination statewide.

Product overview

STAR operates as a non-profit membership organization rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings consist of advocacy programs (Texas Recycles Day), annual events (Texas Recycling Summit), educational grants (STAR Scholarships, School Bin Grants), and member directories (Organization and Individual directories) for the Texas recycling community. The organization also offers a sponsorship program with four tiers for corporate partners seeking visibility within the recycling industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Texas Recycles Day: A statewide campaign for recycling outreach celebrated each November 15th, launched in November 2021.
• Texas Recycling Summit
• STAR Scholarship
• STAR Regions

Products and services

• STAR Membership (Individual and Organizational) Recurring membership for individuals and organizations that provides voting rights, eligibility to run for board leadership, directory access, event discounts, and annual National Recycling Coalition membership. Designed for recycling professionals, municipalities, haulers, processors, and advocates in Texas.
• STAR Corporate Sponsorship Packages Four-tiered annual sponsorship program offering escalating visibility benefits: STAR Ally ($500), Resource Advocate ($2,500), Sustainability Partner ($5,000), and Circularity Partner ($10,000). Includes social media recognition, directory enhancement, event discounts, newsletter features, and press releases. Designed for corporate partners seeking visibility in the Texas recycling industry.
• Texas Recycling Summit Annual two-day conference serving as Texas' premier forum for advancing sustainable materials management and circular economy initiatives. Brings together recycling professionals, municipal leaders, and environmental innovators. General admission $375, member price $325, student price $100, with government complimentary registration for Assistant Directors or higher. Scheduled for May 14-15, 2026 in Denton, TX.
• Texas Recycles Day Campaign Statewide recycling outreach campaign celebrated each November 15th, designed to harmonize and standardize recycling education across Texas to reduce contamination. Provides monthly themes with ready-to-use social media and educational assets for campaign participants. Launched in November 2021 with founding partners Take Care Texas and Keep Texas Beautiful.
• STAR Scholarships Scholarships awarded to graduating high school seniors and enrolled college students studying Environmental Sustainability or related majors. Designed to support the next generation of recycling and sustainability professionals in Texas.
• School Bin Grants Grants providing recycling bins to schools to support recycling education and infrastructure in K-12 educational settings across Texas.
• Texas Recycling Center Directory Searchable statewide directory of recycling center locations enabling Texans to find their nearest recycling facility. Lists 36+ recycling facilities across Texas, from Brownsville to El Paso to Houston to Dallas.
• Organization Member Directory Directory listing organization members including recyclers (batteries, electronics, glass, HHW, metal, OCC, paper, plastic), processors, haulers, Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), consulting firms, government entities, nonprofits, and retail partners across Texas.
• Individual Member Directory Directory of individual recycling and sustainability professionals across Texas, spanning 39+ pages of members from the Texas recycling community.

Quantifiable outcome

• Contamination reduction through standardized statewide messaging
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• EarthShare TexasminorOthersSTAR is a member of EarthShare Texas, a federation of environmental and conservation organizations that workplace giving campaigns.
• Renew TexasminorOthersSTAR is a member of Renew Texas, a statewide recycling initiative organization.
• NSActionminorOthersSTAR is a member of NSAction, a national organization supporting recycling initiatives.
• SERDC (Southeast Recycling Development Council)minorOthersSTAR is a member of SERDC, supporting regional recycling development efforts.
• NRC (National Recycling Coalition)minorOthersSTAR membership includes annual membership with the National Recycling Coalition, providing access to national recycling resources and networking.
• NAHMMA (National Association of Hazardous Materials Recyclers)minorOthersSTAR is a member of NAHMMA, the National Association of Hazardous Materials Recyclers.
• Take Care TexascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding organization of Texas Recycles Day campaign. Offers FREE educational resources including handouts and stickers. Co-develops recycling outreach materials and messaging for statewide harmonization.
• KTB (Keep Texas Beautiful)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding organization of Texas Recycles Day campaign. Supports statewide recycling education and Keep Texas Recycling initiative.
• TerracycleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner for brand partnership programs with 100+ brands, providing free recycling solutions for hard-to-recycle materials.
• Office DepotminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides ink and toner cartridge recycling program for Texas Recycles Day participants.
• Call2RecycleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBattery recycling locator partnership for Texas Recycles Day free recycling programs.
• Bay Area ComplianceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 Texas Recycling Summit.
• Circular ServicesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 Texas Recycling Summit.
• NetGain CFOminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 Texas Recycling Summit.
• NewGen Strategies & SolutionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 Texas Recycling Summit.
• H-E-BminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the 2026 STAR Scholarship program.
• BetterUnitecoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides membership management, event registration, transaction history, and billing portal software. Powers STAR's member portal and event ticketing.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA): A larger, established industry association for solid waste professionals. SWANA offers overlapping education, certification, and advocacy for municipal and private sector recycling and waste professionals, but covers all of North America and all solid waste streams, making it broader than STAR's recycling-only, Texas-only focus.
• National Recycling Coalition (NRC): The national-level recycling trade association and STAR's affiliated national counterpart. Both convene recycling professionals and provide networking, education, and policy advocacy; STAR members receive NRC membership as a benefit. NRC operates at the federal policy level while STAR focuses on Texas.
• Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI): The national trade association representing the scrap recycling industry, including processors of metals, paper, electronics, plastics, glass, and textiles. ISRI's commodity-specific focus overlaps with STAR's recycler members (batteries, electronics, glass, metal, OCC, paper, plastic) but operates nationally.
• National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA): The leading U.S. trade association for the private waste and recycling industry. NWRA represents haulers, processors, and suppliers at the federal level — overlapping with STAR's industry members but with a national advocacy and lobbying orientation that STAR lacks.

Emerging players

• Call2Recycle: A nonprofit stewardship organization operating battery and consumer electronics recycling programs across North America. Call2Recycle is a STAR Texas Recycles Day partner providing battery recycling locators, with overlapping nonprofit stewardship missions but a national rather than Texas-specific scope.
• Product Stewardship Institute (PSI): A nonprofit policy organization that promotes Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and product stewardship across the U.S. PSI shares STAR's mission of advancing recycling infrastructure and policy, but focuses specifically on producer responsibility legislation rather than broad recycling industry convening.

Regional players

• California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA): A California-based state-level recycling coalition and the closest structural analog to STAR. CRRA runs an annual conference, advocates for source reduction and recycling, and serves a similar municipal/processor/hauler member base — but exclusively in California rather than Texas.
• Northeast Recycling Council (NERC): A regional recycling council serving the northeastern U.S. states. Like SERDC, NERC partners with state-level recyclers and shares STAR's focus on market development, contamination reduction, and recycling infrastructure advocacy — but its geography does not overlap with Texas.

Direct peers

• Southeast Recycling Development Council (SERDC): A regional recycling development council covering the southeastern U.S. STAR is a member of SERDC. Both organizations promote recycling market development, host convenings, and provide networking for haulers, processors, and MRFs across multi-state regions.
• Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB): A Texas-based 501c3 nonprofit and STAR's co-founding partner on the Texas Recycles Day campaign. KTB focuses on litter prevention and beautification while STAR focuses on recycling, but both share statewide Texas environmental education missions and overlapping municipal and volunteer networks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/recyclingSTAR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/state-of-texas-alliance-for-recycling-star
• Instagraminstagram.com/recyclingstar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR)